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FanFiction:The Art of the Hunt/Season 2/Chapter 9 - Silver Magala
The hunters woke with a start. The cavern had shook violently and suddenly, as if from the roots of the Earth there had issued an explosion and it had made the very ground shudder. Noami and Reia woke first, looking around in a daze. The cavern was now dully lit, and the huge chamber outside had a silvery-yellow light issuing from it and shining rays of daylight onto the wall of their small alcove. Outside, there was a noise, the volume of which was not harmful to their ears but resonated in the walls of the subterranean world. Slowly, but with increasing speed, each of the hunters awoke and put on the various pieces of armor they'd removed for sleep. They wiped the residue of night out of their eyes and each one got up. Taka passed out Energy Drinks he had made last night; he had only slept in the wee hours of the morning. Most of the hunters took them gladly. Calli and Gamor had rested in one another's arms, and remained so tired afterwards that they found it a sore displeasure to awake. Katrina had slept with Jeren and Yuki at her sides for warmth, and Brutus and Ali had rested near the start of the passage, and walked a ways to Taka to grab their awakening drink. Afterwards, the hunters packed all their gear and waited for a plan to become apparent. A few peeped outside. The cavern was actually still quite dark, and the land outside did not seem promising. It seemed as though they had gotten stuck in a large dale, with sheer sides and dark faces. Amidmost lay the wyvern, stretching its neck in the sun. Its scales glistened with an otherworldly, pale colour, a colour which could have been called a light gold. A mutation, perhaps, or a product of age, it was strong beyond reason or measure of men. The viewing hunters blanched and slumped back against the wall. "I think we made a mistake... in leaving Tanjia, Gamor," Said Calli frightfully. "Maybe..." Gamor responded. He would say no more on it, but looked down at the cold, stone floor with doubt. "We have a task ahead of us... Let's get as ready as we can," Spoke Katrina, in typical style for her wise and reasonable demeanour. The hunters were finally as prepared as they felt they were able to be. They all gathered their equipment to them, and each one said a prayer or wish in his own fashion. None had much faith. Finally, they walked out of the cavern and towards the sheer precipice looking out towards the dragon's den. As it turned out, there was a bit of a staircase hewn out of the living rock on the east side of the cavern, nearest them. They carefully picked their way down among the tumbled stones of the ancient way, unsure if this had been craft of the ancient nomads of Gathib or mere residue from the habitation of the cavern. They climbed slowly down and within due time were at the east end of the bottom of the valley. A thicket of low-lying, desert-choked thorn bushes lay between them and their quarry, and they picked a path out slowly. They all gulped as Taka got out his bombs and motioned for Noami to climb onto a platform near the north end to shoot an arrow at the bombs. The rest of the hunters contributed a bomb of their own, and they placed them all around its head. Taka wiped a singular tear from his eye; he somehow knew how much pain this monster would endure due to their meddling, but it could not be helped. He turned away, blanched, motioned for Noami to shoot, and everyone held their ears. The first they heard, through their earplugs, was a sound like a mighty mountain being woken from ancient slumbre. It resonated through the cavern and even those living in the distant citadel of Loc Lac looked around in wonder, for the sound carried very far through the rolling desert plains. But then it was gone, and Taka, who had remained still a moment too long, felt himself being lifted off the ground. Not only had the monster become aware of them, it was already attacking. Taka inhaled quickly, but his breath was cut short as his body slammed against the wall. He was a biologist; he was no warrior. His eyes looked around, dazed, and he coughed and sputtered. That was when the creature unfolded its wings from is back, and placed its clawlike wing-hands onto the ground. In this way, it appeared to have six legs. Taka shook his head in disbelief: they looked upon none other than the rare and ancient Silver Magala. Taka had never seen one in person or in photographs, for it was ancient, ancient even when reckoned to the likes of Moga. If he were to describe it now, a merry tale would he have to tell. It had a body shaped such as the Magala family, with great, armlike wings and four legs, but its tail was longer and its wings harder. The scales, which seemed to glow and glimmer with an otherworldly sheen, fell down the back of the monster's neck and onto its back and chest, giving it a uniquely pale coat of armor. Though it had no eyes, from its face a certain malice, an evil, perceived the hunters and set its will against them. This beast was a wholly evil presence. But the rest of the hunters were not so fascinated. All they saw was a Gore Magala mutant that had just rammed one of their friends, and they were already attacking. Reia, with her Long Sword, struck a long blow at its extended feelers, giving them a pretty nick in the side. It would have none of this, of course, and swiped at her with one arm. As it did this, Noami readied an arrow from her platform and shot it directly into the head of the creature. It reared back in pain and looked around, but the hunters had disturbed the aura of its already-old and unreliable scales. It could not locate her. It grew angry, and using its developed sense of smell attacked the nearest hunter. Unfortunately, this time, that turned out to be Brutus, who had approached with his Great Sword. The Silver Magala opened its jaws, and though they felt the bite of Brutus's Great Sword, he felt the bite of the jaws himself. He cringed as he felt his armor beginning to bend, and began to vomit slightly as the creature threw him into the air. His eyes rolled upwards and he made an attempt to breathe as the jaws released him. Brutus fell hard on the cold, grey ground of the cavern, and heard a mighty thud. Away near the monster, Ali had come to her lover's defense with her Commander's Dagger - a weapon of power nowhere near sufficient to match this beast. If the Silver Magala could have laughed, it would have, as her small blade smote the side of the ancient creature several times. It turned to slap her away with a wing, but she stood not alone. There beside her was Gamor, who had charged a Whirlwind Smash and released it just as the creature's head was in range. The Silver Magala cried out in anger and hatred and well over on itself. "NOW!" Shouted Gamor. He readied another smash and the hunters all charged. Terror could not be seen in the face of the monster, though the pervasive feeling in the air changed from that of closeness and a will set against them to that of weakness. Jeren leapt forward first, having had no attacks up to that point. He stabbed his Gunlance into the chest of the dragon, and pulled the trigger. A fire issued forth from the gun's end, and the skin near the blow darkened to an otherworldly shade and fell off. Brutus had gotten up and was running, filled with rage, towards the tail. His blow fell hard and the tail slithered and whipped at him. As the Silver Magala struggled to regain its footing, its wings felt a metallic rain falling upon them. So much pain did the monster feel that Taka, the most overly sensitive of the group and the only among them who could understand the voices of beasts, dropped his Dual Blades and shuddered. The monster regained its footing, and began shaking itself, releasing its scales in the cavern. It fastened itself firmly to the ground to launch a charge, and focused at Reia, who had just finished making a pretty cut in the dorsal scales of the Magala's head. Taka looked on in horror, but could not move from his space - out of pity for the monster or fear for his own self, he could not tell. Noami saw this, and was beside herself with anger. Here stood the only person near enough to Reia to save her from certain injury, and he stood idly by! "Taka, get your head out of your ass!" She yelled from her pedestal atop the cavern. The bow of Noami sang as more razors fell amidst the dragon-scales. Taka finally snapped out of his hypnosis and ran towards Reia, grabbing her from her stance and half-tackling, half-dragging her out of the way. He was just in time: the Silver Magala charged and slammed into a stony spire near the south end of the dale. Reia looked at Noami, then Taka. Her eyes were saucers, looking at them with an otherworldly gleam. "Thank you.." She said, getting up and dusting herself off. But there was no time to take a break. The Silver Magala huffed and roared. The hunters held their hands to their ears and cringed. "It's entered Rage Mode!!" Screamed Yuki. She readied her Gunblade and began firing rounds at the head. It howled and spat at her, but she narrowly dodged the blow. She fired more rounds, getting ever closer. Calli, too, stepped up to the challenge. A Lancer, she had the best defense of any in the group. She held her shield in front of her and very close, and approached the monster from behind. Finally, in a bout of anger and hatred, she swung her shield back, taking her lance in her left hand and pulling it to her right side so that it extended farther and allowed her to levy both her right arm's strength and her body's might against the attack. Her Azure Crest was felt within the hide of the Silver Magala. Beset with rage, it turned towards her and ignored the pain so that it might leap upon her. With hate in its eyes, it vomited a foul substance upon her and began tearing at her armor with its claws, wreathed in shadow and filthy. Calli could not help but inhale as indescribably harsh pain rippled through her body. She felt her health deteriorating as she foul broth seeped into her pores and into her mouth. Finally, a hunter came to her aid. It was Katrina. She used her Hunting Horn to knock a few very specific blows onto the head of the monster, knocking it back and inciting a roar. But this time, she had her own song to play. "Listen up, everyone!" She shouted as she brought her Heavy Bagpipe to her lips and played a beautiful tune. The hunters felt invigorated and had found new strength. Calli even smiled. She walked off and grabbed a canteen off of the pile of abandoned equipment, stashed in a recess of the dale so that the monster would not find them and spoil them. She poured the cold water over herself, and drank a bit, spitting it up to get the grotesque taste away from her mouth. She returned to the fray, but felt weak and cold. She picked up her Lance and Shield from where she had dropped them and grabbed a whetstone: a small nick she found in the point, and that would not do at all. With the other hunters was the Silver Magala concerned. It flew in the air, finally revealing itself as a monster of even greater finesse, and leaped upon them, sending quite a few careening. The hunters were too dazed to clearly see what happened afterwards, but Noami saw it leap up again and fly out of the now well-lit dale in the caves. She cursed and shot some arrows its direction, but they fell among its scales harmlessly. Defeated, she sheathed her bow and jumped down from her position. "Quick! Up, everyone! Reia, get them up, get them out!" She shouted, running towards where light was showing through a rift in the cliffsides to the northeast, at her right in the near distance. No one made a move, other than to dust themselves off or get up. "Quickly!" She repeated. "Noami... We did not kill it. Do you know what that means? Are you remotely aware of the wrath which we may have just awoken?" Taka said, making no effort to hide his frustration. Noami was silent. "It is not your fault, but be not overeager to chase a beast which has showed its might in such a way. Even the wise cannot see all ends to this madness, but it may be so that we may come over-early to Loc Lac only to find it in shambles, with the beast sitting amidmost." Taka said, pain in his voice. Noami was taken aback and looked around. "Well, I'm going for it, whatever you want to do. If I can have no one with me, that's fine. I'll go on my own," She said, gathering her things and looking at them. One by one, Taka, Gamor, Calli, Brutus, Ali, Yuki, Jeren, and Katrina got up and did the traditional guild salute - a clasped fist, held in front of the chest, parallel to the heart. Reia smiled and walked over to her. "Of course I wouldn't abandon you," She said, doing the salute and winking. "If we can be of service, we will," They all said, in a haphazard unison. Thus it was settled, and the Ten set out northwards towards the shadow of the Silver Magala. ---- TO BE CONTINUED IN FanFiction:The Art of the Hunt/Season 2/Chapter 10 - The First Hunt Closes ---- Category:Fan Fiction